Hope for Bengal electors pending under adjudication, but uncertainty over redressal at tribunals

The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) informed the Supreme Court that judicial officers had already disposed of nearly 47 lakh of the 60 lakh claims under adjudication during the Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal.

During the hearing, a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant took note of the High Court Chief Justice’s assurance that the remaining claims would be disposed of by April 7.

Electors whose names are struck off during adjudication can approach appellate tribunals presided over by former Chief Justices and judges of High Courts. Though the Election Commission of India notified the tribunals on April 20, they are yet to begin functioning.

Data shared by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, shows that after four supplementary lists, deletions among cases under adjudication are about 40%. This means that of 60 lakh, about 24 lakh electors rejected by the judicial officers may approach the tribunals. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, who appeared for the State government before the Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 1, 2026), pointed out this fact and said that electors under adjudication have a “very high exclusion rate”, of about 45%.

About 63 lakh electors were deleted when the final roll was released on February 28. If the 24 lakh deletions during adjudication are added, the total will reach 87 lakh. The voter list of the State has 7.04 crore electors, which includes 60 lakh cases under adjudication. The tribunals will start working from April 2, and it is unlikely that all rejected cases will be resolved before polling, scheduled in two phases on April 23 and April 29.

With over 80 lakh deletions, the electoral roll is likely to fall below 7 crore voters. During the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the State had 7.60 crore voters while the figure was 7.34 crore during the 2021 assembly election.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed the developments in the Supreme Court, saying that her party would support electors approaching tribunals. “I am happy today. Attempts to include voters from outside have been thwarted by the Supreme Court,” she said.

Addressing a public meeting in Nanoor, Ms. Banerjee alleged that newly appointed officials by the Election Commission were tasked with rejecting nominations of her party candidates and urged them to be cautious while filing nominations.

Over the past two days, supporters of the Trinamool Congress have been staging demonstrations outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), alleging bulk submission of Form 6 applications by the BJP. On Wednesday, prohibitory orders under Section 153 of Bharatiya Nyay Samhita were imposed outside the CEO’s office in Kolkata and protesters were asked to vacate the premises.